- Our lives are like a chessboard, and the Lord moves us from one place to another—if we are responsive to spiritual promptings. Looking back, we can see His hand in our lives.
He speaks about Alma and Amulek and Nephi and Laban as examples of seeing the Lord's hand in their lives. Each saw events happen that the Lord had a direct hand in moving the pieces on their chessboard of life.
- Significant events unfold in the gospel and in the Church that further the kingdom of God on earth. They are not by accident but by God’s plan. He who fashioned this world can calm the seas with His word and can steer both Alma and Amulek and Nephi and Laban to be at the right place at precisely the right time. Likewise, events and associations unfold in each of our lives that further God’s work on earth.
The Lord is in the details of our lives. He uses us to bring out His simple and great purposes here on earth.
- Through the experience of my own life’s journey, I know that the Lord will move us on that seeming chessboard to do His work. What may appear to be a random chance is, in fact, overseen by a loving Father in Heaven, who can number the hairs of every head. Not even a sparrow falls to the ground without our Father’s notice. The Lord is in the small details of our lives, and those incidents and opportunities are to prepare us to lift our families and others as we build the kingdom of God on earth.
When we recognize the Lord's had in the movement of our lives we need to remember those moments. Remembering those moments will allow us to know we are on the right path.
- Think of those times, some daily, when the Lord has acted in your life—and then acted again. Treasure them as moments the Lord has shown confidence in you and in your choices. But allow Him to make more of you than you can make of yourself on your own. Treasure His involvement. Sometimes we consider changes in our plans as missteps on our journey. Think of them more as first steps to being “on the Lord’s errand.”
Each of us has moments that seem familiar to us. Elder Rasband says that these moments are reminders that we are all part of the family of God.
- We may meet someone who seems familiar, renew an acquaintance, or find common ground with a stranger. When those occur, perhaps the Lord is reminding us that we are all truly brothers and sisters. We are really engaged in the same cause—in what Joseph Smith called “the cause of Christ.”
It is important that we remember that the Lord knows each of us and what we are capable of.
- The Lord knows what each of us is capable of doing and becoming.
Elder Rasband concludes with encouragement to be a willing participant in the hands of God to bring about His purposes in life. When we are, we will be partners with God in bringing His children eternal life.
- When we are righteous, willing, and able, when we are striving to be worthy and qualified, we progress to places we never imagined and become part of Heavenly Father’s “divine design.” Each of us has divinity within us. When we see God working through us and with us, may we be encouraged, even grateful for that guidance. When our Father in Heaven said, “This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man,” He was talking about all of His children—you in particular.
I had the opportunity to be called upon one night to visit the home of a single mother. During our visit there was a clear understanding that we as priesthood bearers were in a special place where the Lord needed us to be. I left that evening with a clear impression that coincidences are not part of our lives. My thought was this: "If we believe in coincidences, we decrease the recognition of God's hand in our lives." God knows His children and He sends you and me to be in their paths to help bring about His purposes. As we listen and act in the ways of righteousness, we are able to assist God in bringing about great things for His children.